Thanks for the link Carl, it looks like a fabulous show it is still a little too soon for me to be able to commit but dtd made a good point on another thread about hotels filling up early so I am hoping to know one way or the other by the end of the month. I would be interested in doing a few other garden related activities ie Longwood Gardens ect. but the first week in March is still pretty cold in Philly. Any suggestions?

The show is March 1-9.

There are a couple of events at that time at the Scott Arboretum, a short train ride away, in Swarthmore, PA. It might be a little nicer in PA than up here in early March!

Guided Tour: Witchhazels and Early Spring Blooms

Saturday, March 7, 1 to 2:30 pm

Join Julie Jenney, Educational Programs Coordinator of the Scott Arboretum, for a free tour of the Scott Arboretum. Experience the sights and fragrances of Scott Arboretum's vast Witchhazel collection.

Guided Tour: A Walk with the Curator

Monday, March 9, 2:30 - 3:30 pm

Join Andrew Bunting, Curator of the Scott Arboretum, for a series of free tours at the Scott Arboretum. "A Walk with the Curator" program, previously only available to interns of the Scott Arboretum, provides an in-depth look at the collections, gardens, and plant selections through the eyes of the man responsible for curating the collection.

Checked in today with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the sponsors of the Philadelphia Flower Show, to see if they had suggestions on related garden activities
in the Philly area around that first week of March. While
they don't start listing activities on their web site until closer to the show dates, they offered the link below with a fairly comprehenive list of interesting places which you could check on individually if you like.

Personally, I wish it were summer and you could take in Chanicleer, which I find to be an ever changing and quite
magical place! And, if you could arrange to arrive a few weeks BEFORE the show, a visit to Meadowbrook Farm just
outside the city is a must - they grow about 80% of the plant material for the Show there in a multitude of green houses. Anyone interested just let me know and I can slide you in with me under my membership rate. . .

If you drive down to Philly, why not stop
off at the NY Botanical Garden (just a few miles off I-95)
and take in the Enid Haupt Conservatory - when I lived in
New York City, I went up there every chance I could during
the winter just to sit on a bench in the tropical rain forest along side the waterfall and read for a few hours. . .what a way to kill the winter blahs!

Don't know that Philadelphia is necessarily "nicer" that time of year, usually just messier. . .

Here is a link that might be useful: Greater Philadelphia Gardens

This morning I got an email from the NY Botanical Garden reminding me of their Holiday Train Show. The email is selling tickets for special events at special times, but as far as I know you can still walk in when the show is open (now until Jan. 11).

It's held in the Enid Haupt Conservatory now, but I'll always remember back when the trains ran outdoors. One year I was delighted to see the trains running in a heavy snow storm, and a worker was carefully sweeping the tracks with a broom. Given the scale of the train, it looked like a huge giant sweeping the tracks (and of course I didn't have a camera with me).

Claire